


Music

by pairatime



Category: Space: Above and Beyond
Genre: Gen, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 09:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9432086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pairatime/pseuds/pairatime
Summary: Cooper is learning about music and West has a moment.





	

“Take these into your mother, she needs them for dinner.”

“Yes sir,” Nathan told his father, picking up the box of carrots, beets, potatoes, onions and turnips, giving the family garden one last glance before heading toward the house.

Stepping through his family home’s back door and into the utility room carrying a box of root vegetables from the family garden Nathan raised a brow at the rap music that was filling the house. He couldn’t remember either of his parents ever listening to it when he was growing up and he hadn’t expected that to have changed.

Then the music switched to some upbeat pop song without warning.

“Mom?” Nathan asked, stomping his feet on the rug before heading into the kitchen where his mother had begin to prepare dinner. “Why are we listening to pop-,” the music changed again, “-jazz music?”

“It’s your friend. I was showing him how to use the TV and he found the music stations. He’s been flipping through them. Classical, that’s nice,” Anne West explained while she added meat into the pot she was cooking. “I gather the music choices on the _Saratoga_ weren’t very wide?” she asked, then went on without waiting for an answer, “can you believe he’d never even heard of Madonna or the Beetles? Can you believe that,” she said with a sigh, looking over toward her son.

“Yes. Yes I can believe that. Coop hadn’t. He’s sheltered. Despite everything,” Nathan said, shaking his head with a half smile. “Here are the vegetables dad said you wanted,” he told his mother, sliding the box of vegetables onto a counter as he cranked his neck to try and see Copper in the living room “did you need my help?” he asked.

Anna smiled at her eldest, “I have it under control. You go on,” she said, moving over to take a look in the box as the music changed to hard rock.

“Thanks,” Nathan said, grabbing a couple bottles from the refrigerator before quickly heading into the living room where Cooper was standing before the TV, grinning as he tapped the remote making the music change into an upbeat country song. “Coop?” he asked, holding out a bottle toward his friend.

“Hey West, Your mom showed me how to change the music channels. Did you know you have over a thousand of them? Why didn’t we this many choices on the _Saratoga_? I thought the Commodore liked music,” Cooper asked, changing the music to the 1960s channel, as he took the bottle.

“He loves music,” Nathan answered, taking a swig from his bottle. “And the _Saratoga_ did have most of this music,” he added.

“But I’ve never heard it before?” Cooper asked confused, flipping it forward the music a decade while taking a small sip of beer.

“How often did you, hell either of us, get to pick the music? Even the mess’s choices were limited by cooks, if one of them didn’t like it, it couldn’t be played,” Nathan explained, standing next to his friend and watching the guide. “Hey if you hit the video button you’ll get to see the artist perform the song,” he informed Cooper.

“Really?” Cooper said, clicking the channel to the 80s as he pressed the video button, watching as the top half of the screen changed into a Madonna performance. “Cool.”

“Yeah, really cool,” Nathan said, grinning back as he finished off his beer.

“What’s your favorite music West?” Cooper asked as he said down in front of the TV to read the channel names on the bottom half better.

“I like a lot of different kinds but why don’t you put on some country?” Nathan suggested.

“Country,” Cooper muttered to himself a few times as he scrolled down the list of channels, stopping and clicking the country station once he reached one. He smiled as he listened for a few minutes, “I like it,” he said as he exited the menu, letting the music video take over the whole screen. 

Nathan watched the video before a few minutes before looking back toward Cooper, he froze. Cooper was sitting in from of the TV-one hand holding the remote as the other was reaching out to touch the screen as the music changed into a slowly beat song.

Closing his eyes, Nathan grabbed the wall to steady himself as he forced the image of Neil sitting and doing the same thing from his mind. Or tried to.

“West? You okay,” Cooper’s voice asked from close by.

“Coop, I’m,” Taking a slow deep breathe Nathan paused before opening his eyes and going on, “I’m okay. Just had a moment. It’s okay,” he told his wingman, now standing right in front of him looking worried.

“No. You aren’t,” Cooper said confidently as he looked at West, waiting.

Shaking his head again Nathan spoke softly as he explained, “The way you were sitting. Just for a moment you looked like Neil. I remembered him, it hit me again. Everything just,” closing his eyes again, trying to push away the memory of holding his brother’s body, desperately wanting him to speak, cough or move, anything.

Nathan’s thoughts were jarred as he felt Cooper’s arms wrap around him. The slightly taller In Vitro pulled him close and Nathan clung back.

“You’re not alone West,” Cooper whispered into his ear as the other Marine awkwardly patted Nathan on the back.

“I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t save my brother,” Nathan whispered hoarsely as he tighten his hold around Cooper, burying his tear streaked face into his friend’s shoulder.

“West we-“ Cooper started but Nathan interrupted him, continuing as if he never heard Cooper speak.

“I couldn’t save any of them. We lost them all and I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t save them,” Nathan said, before drifting into silence, leaving the forlorn voice of the singer the only sound.

Unsure what to do Cooper held his friend and repeated he wasn’t alone. Supporting him as one singer’s voice faded into another.


End file.
